Receptacle support



W.R.'YO UNG 2,637,518

' RECEPTACLE SUPPORT Filed March 5 1949 v I I lnoemor William, R. Young (Ittornega Patented May 5, 1953 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE RECEPTACLE SUPPORT William R. Young, Fairfield, Conn.

Application March 3, 1949, Serial N 0. 79,489

3 Claims.

This invention relates to supports and particularly to supports for suspending containers from a vertical wall. Although not necessarily limited thereto, the support of this invention is particularly designed for use with bottles, or containers having in general the proportions and configuration of a bottle, and will be described in this connection. While vertical wall container supports of many kinds have been developed, these are normally designed for use with a particular size or shape of container, and are found to be substantially useless when it is attempted to mount any other container thereon. It is consequently an object of this invention to provide a vertical wall container support which is adapted for use with a wide variety of shapes and sizes of containers, but which is at the same time simple in construction and operation and which is so arranged that its cost of production can be held to a figure much lower than that for supports now in use.

It is furthermore an object of the invention to construct a support having the foregoing advantages, and which is at the same time very small in relation to the article supported in order that the support will be not only inconspicuous in use, but will also be of a size which can be conveniently attached to the container when originally filled for sale as an added inducement for its purchase.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide a support of the foregoing type which consists firstly of a single bracket member which can be formed by a single stamping operation and a single bending operation, and secondly a soft metal snare attached to said bracket member.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a container support which can be freely hung on a smooth rod or nail projecting outwardly from a vertical wall for convenient placement or removal, and which because of its shape 'and loading would normally have a tendency to creep along said rod or nail away from the wall, but which is so constructed at its point of engagement with the rod or nail as to have a wedging frictional engagement therewith for preventing such creep and. maintaining the support neatly against the wall.

Additional features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a support according to the invention prior to assembly with a container.

Fig. 21s a perspective view showing the support and container assembled.

.with various containers.

Figs. 5 and 6 are perspective views similar to Fig. 1 but illustrating modified forms of the invention.

Fig. 7 is a force diagram illustrating the operation of the nail or rod engaging means.

The invention is best illustrated in connection wth a bottle holder and is most effective in providing the housewife with convenient means for using decorative bottles, such as those employed in packaging various condiments and beverages, as vases or plant holding receptacles.

Figs. 1 to 4 illustrate the form of the invention at present preferred wherein the device consists of a bracket member I 0 formed from a meal plate and including a wall engaging portion l2 and a horizontal arm l4 formed by bending the plate along a line l3. Portion I2 is pierced with an opening Hi, to be more particularly described hereinafter, for engaging a nail or other member projecting from the supporting wall. The arm [4 is preferably slightly curved at its outer edge l8. The curve of this edge will normally correspond approximately with the curvature of the largest circular object which the device is suited to engage, although the edge may be formed with any desired shape or any particular curvature designed to fit a specific container, or merely left straight if desired without essentially affecting the invention.

In one corner of the arm I4 adjacent the edge I8 is an opening and in the other corner thereof near said edge is a lanced out loop or inverted channel 22 which together with the adjacent portions of arm l4 forms a guide eye. Attached to the arm at the opening 20 is a container embracing member or snare 30. The snare is formed of soft metal which can be manipulated without difficulty, which readily takes a permanent set, and which is further strong enough to retain said set under the normal loads imposed upon the device. Preferably the snare 30 is made of heavy copper wire with a plating of corrosion resistant material, for example nickel, thereon. The end 32 of the sling may be attached to the arm M in any appropriate manner, but the preferred construction is provided by passing said end 32 through the opening 20 and bending the end sharply back upon itself. The snare 30 is thus supported for swinging movement substantally in the plane of the arm I4. The snare 30 is then bent in a large arc lying substantially in said plane and the free end 34 thereof passed under the loop or channel 22 and through the guide eye formed between the same and arm [4.

When it is desired to use the device of Fig. 1, the snare 30 is enlarged to the proper size and slipped over the mouth of a bottle such as the bottle 40 of Fig. 2. The bottle should have an enlarged section such as collar 4|, or some equivalent projection beneath which the snare can grip to avoid any danger of slipping off. The end 3450: the snare is then grasped, normally by a pair of pliers, and the snare drawn tightly around the neck 42 or other reduced portion of the bottle 40. By merely making a sharp bend 36 over the loop 22, the snare is securely 'anchored and the bottle firmly held. Any excess length may then be clipped from the end of the snare, and the new end flattened down tightly to the loop if desired, resulting in an assembly having the appearance of that shown in'Fig. 2. While the device is shown in Fig. 1 with the plate which forms the bracket 10 already bent along a line It, the invention also includes an article of commerce in which the plate is allowed to remain flat and may be bent by the user at 'any desired location. In this fashion the support of this invention is rendered extremely flexible in use, for not only is the snare adjustable for grasping bodies with varying peripheral measurements, but, the bracket isthus enabled to accommodate containers having a variety of outlines. ,By an inspection of Figs. 3 and 4 it will .be seen that it is the difference between the largest or belly measurement, and the measurement of the sling engaged portion or neck which determines the suitable length for the arm 14. This relationship is hereinafter referred to as the bellyneck difference and where the same is large, as in the case of container 40a of Fig. '3, the bend 13a will be placed by the user so as to provide a long arm Ma. 'On the other hand, where a con- 'tainer such as 40b having a low belly-neck difference is to be mounted as shown in Fig. 4, the plate will be bent by the user at I3b to provide a short arm Mb. While the foregoing description has particular reference to the use 'of the invention with containers having bellies adapted to rest against the vertical supporting surface 50 to maintain the container axis approximately vertical, it will be understood that the invention is not limited in this respect, and the same may be applied for suspending light weight containers entirely free from contact with the wall, or the bracket 10 may bejso arranged that the container .axis is held at an angle to the wall if desired.

Fig. 5 illustrates a modification of the invention including a bracket similar in all respects to that .of Fig. .1 except for the lancecl out 'loop '22. The bracket .is designated Hid and has .a horizontal arm Md in which a .cut is made, the material adjacent one side of the out being formed upwardly to provide a sloping tunnel or inverted channel 22d passing from the upper surface of the arm 14d to the lower .surface thereof and taking the place of the loop or channel 22. In this case the end .34 of the snare 3i] passes through the arm Md and is preferably fastened by bending back along the undersurface thereof. By providing the sloping passage 22d, the snare 30 is allowed to slide substantially in the plane of the arm Md'during the tightening operation.

- Fig. -6 represents an additional modification-of the invention in which the lanced out loop 22 is replaced by an ear 22c which is struck :up from the material of the arm 1 4e after being provided with the opening 23 for receiving the snare 30. The operation of this device is identical with that of Fig. 1.

An important feature of the invention relates to the opening 16 formed in the wall engaging portion l2 of the bracket or in the portion of the plate which, after bending, will form the wall engaging portion. This opening is preferably triangular and has a relatively small vertex angle 16a, normally in the neighborhood of degrees as shown in Fig. 7. The opening I6 is adapted for engagement with any type of wall mounted support but is particularly effectiv with a tack "or nail 5| as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. When such an element is employed, the bracket [0 is readily applied to and removed from the nail without disturbing the same, but is also firmly held while in place thereon. It will be noted, for example, that such a bracket as Ill, when provided with an ordinary opening, would tend to slide along the nail 5| away from the wall due to the load at the end of the arm 14, Ma or Mb urging the bracket to pivot about the axis 13, 13a '01" 13!). With the improved opening 16, however, this is not the case, for there 'is a wedging action on the nail 5| which so increases the normal force holding the surfaces together that the friction is sufficient to hold the bracket arm l2 snugly against the wall at all times. The reason for this is emphasized by the'showing in Fig. 7, where the arrow W represents the downward pull on the bracket, approximately equal to the weight of "the container and its contents. In the case of the usual opening, the force W is equal to the normal force urging the surfaces of the opening and nail together, which is usually insufficient to prevent the brackets sliding along the nail 5i and assuming an unsightly position thereon. When the opening ['6 is shaped as shown in the drawing, however, the weight W is reacted at two points on the nail each of which supports approximately W/2. Since the forces which result 'in the W/2 supporting effects must be normal to the surfaces of the opening IB, they are substantially multiplied depending upon the angular relationship of the sides of the opening. For the opening shown, with a vertex of approximately 30, the normal forces at each side, 'N/Z, is seen to be approximately twice as great as W. Actually if the angle l6a=30, then In this fashion the normal force .is caused to be substantially four times the value which would obtain for the usual opening. Slipping of the bracket along the .nai1'5-l away from the wall is thus effectively precluded by frictional resist- .ance, while the assembled bracket and container are at the same time readilyremovable from and replaceable on the wall ,for refilling with water or the like.

The invention set out in the foregoing description .is thus seen to provide a receptacle holder of unusual flexibility and versatility, but which can :be manufactured at a minimum cost. The brackets l0 and ltd of Figs. 1 to 5 require but a single punching and lancing operation and a single forming operation, and in cases where the bracket is to be furnished flat for subsequent bending by the user, a single operation (alone is required. The bracket Hleof Fig. 6 require "only one more step than the other. forms shown in order to displace the ear 22c after the hole 23 has been punched. The completed support is simple and readily applied by an unsl'illed user, and also insures a firm, reliable attachment to the wall.

In addition to providing any of the foregoing devices with the bracket I0, I M or we unbent as described above, the invention also contem plates the situation in which the bracket [0, Hid or We may be furnished alone as an article of commerce, preferably in unbent condition. Since this portion of the device is inconvenient for the ordinary user to form without special tools and equipment, it is proposed to perform all the operations such as cutting, piercing, lancing or upsetting necessary to the completion of the bracket [0, except for the final bending, and to furnish the same to the user with instructions as to the proper material. and method to be used in installing and employing the snare 30.

The device of this invention is particularly useful as a support for vases or plant holding receptacles having a bottle configuration and is so arranged that it can accommodate such receptacles within a wide range of neck size as well as those where the belly-neck difference falls in a wide range. By virtue of this flexibility, the device of the invention is particularly useful to home decorators who have discovered bottles which are of attractive shape and color and which they desire to mount on a vertical wall Without the necessity for a large and conspicu ous support detracting from the containers appearance. Furthermore the need for custombuilt supports to suit the particular configuration of each bottle is avoided.

By virtue of the extremely reduced size which characterizes the support of this invention, it is also suitable for attachment to any article of commerce which is packaged and sold in an attractive container suitable for subsequent use in a decorative manner. The small added space occupied by the support will not materially affect the storage and shipping of the containers, but their attractiveness and sale value Will be substantially enhanced thereby.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of this invention and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

. I claim:

1. A container support comprising a sheet metal bracket having a foundation engaging portion and an outwardly extending arm angularly related thereto, said arm having an opening punched therein and a perforated ear deflected from the material thereof; a bendable wire attached at one end to said arm at said opening 6 and slidably received through the perforation in said ear to form a snare, said ear and opening being arranged to provide for expanding and contracting movement of said snare substantially in the plane of said arm.

2. As a new article of manufacture an elongate sheet metal plate pierced near one end thereof to form an opening adapted to receive an anchor the end of a wire container-embracing snare; guide means stamped from the material of said plate near said end and adapted to receive therethrough and encircle another portion of a snare for continuous siding movement substantially in the plane of said end of said plate, said plate being free of obstructions in the path of said sliding movement and being pierced near the other end thereof to form a support engaging opening, said plate being bendable at various locations between said ends whereby the same may be adjusted to accommodate the particular belly-neck difference of a container to be supported.

3. A container support comprising a base having foundation engaging means; snare mounting and controlling means on said base, said means comprising an anchor and a guide; and a soft, readily bendable strand capable of taking a permanent set and constituting a snare attached at one end to said anchor and having a free end passing freely through said guide, said strand being slidable through said guide along its own length to form a contractible loop, the free end of said strand beyond said guide being disposed for ready manual engagement whereby a pull on said free end along its length effects contraction of said loop into engagement with an article placed therein and clamping of the article against said base, said strand being capable of having a relatively sharp permanent bend formed therein around said guide for maintaining firm clamping engagement of said loop with the article when once effected.

WILLIAM R. YOUNG.

References Cited in the file of this patent 

